Schaffer's stages of attachment

• Asocial stage


  -Within the first few weeks

  -Towards humans and inanimate objects
• Why didnt Schaffer and Emerson agree with the asocial stage completely


  As babies preferred the company of familiar people
• Indiscriminate stage


  - 2-7 months

  -Babies show a clear preference to humans

  -No stranger or separation anxiety
• Specific attachment


  -From 7 months

  -Shows attachment to a primary attachment figure

  -Stranger anxiety esp when primary caregiver is absent
• Multiple attachment


  -Babies extent their primary attachment to become secondary attachments
• There is good external validity


  [+] Most of the observations are from parents during day-day activities and they get reported to the researcher// The alternative would be for the researcher to record the observations. This may've distracted the baby or made them feel anxious.// This means its more likely for ppts to behave more naturally when being observed
• COUNTER: There are issues with the mother being the observer


  [-] The mothers are unlikely to be objective observer.// They may be biased in what they report. They may also not notice when their child is showing anxiety or they may have misremembered it.//This means even if babies behaved naturally, their behaviour may not have been accurately recorded.
• a limitation is the validity of measures used to assess attachment in the asocial stage


  [-] Young babies have poor coordination and are fairly immobile. Babies <2 months may feel anxiety in everyday situations and display this in subtle, hard to observe ways//This makes it hard for mothers to observe and report back// This means babies may be social but due to flawed methods they appear to be asocial.
• There is practical application in daycares


  [+] In the asocial and indiscriminate stages, daycare is likely to be straightforward as children can be comforted by any adult// Schaffer and Emersons research shows that daycare w unfamiliar adults can be problematic during the specific attachment stage//This shows parents' use of daycare can be planned using Schaffer and Emersons stages